A desktop device that can quickly scan objects so they can be replicated
using a 3D printer has gone on sale. The Makerbot
Digitizer, which costs $1,400 (£900), will be shipped to the first buyers in
October. Demand for the machine appeared to overload the company's store when
it went on sale on Thursday evening.
The Digitizer is the latest product looking to
bring 3D printing to mainstream technology users - but experts are skeptical. The
machine is designed to allow the replication of objects without any need for
the user to learn any 3D modeling software or have any other special expertise.
It works by pointing several lasers at the object
and detecting contours in the surface. It also allows users to upload their 3D
designs directly to Thingiverse, a website where 3D designs can be shared. The
time it takes to scan an object varies, but one demonstration involving a small
gnome was said to take around 12 minutes.
"The MakerBot Digitizer is for early adopters,
experimenters, and visionaries who want to be pioneers in Desktop 3D
Scanning," the company says.
"This includes, but is not limited to, architects, designers,
creative hobbyists, educators, and artists."
However, Makerbot has made it clear that the scanner is not suitable for
intricate designs and that users should not expect "too much" from
the machine. "Expectations should be realistic," the machine's FAQ
page reads. "You will not be able to, for example, scan a hamburger and
then eat the digital design."
It adds that objects that are shiny, reflective,
and fuzzy are not well suited to scanning. Despite the industry's hopes that 3D
printing will be hugely popular in the near future, others have dismissed home
3D printing as something of a gimmick.
"Appearances have become completely unhinged
from reality when it comes to the mania created in so-called '3D Printing'
stocks," warned influential investment analysts Citron Research.
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